One Laptop Per Kid

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/H/HUNDRED_DOLLAR_LAPTOP?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-11-07-10-56-03

http://www.laptop.org/

This promotion is going on right now!! The promotion is buy one to give one for these cute little GREEN laptops. I read about this a few months back and was very much interested in participating. It took a little bit of searching, but I managed to find out that the age range for the laptop is apparently 6 to 16! I bought one for Zach's nieces/nephew. They'll be perfect test subjects to see how much the laptop really teaches kids and their interest in it.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm really excited for this program though, the people who put this together are really dedicated and I really think it could change the world.

Blue Scholars Lyrics: Blue School

I've been listening to a bunch of Blue Scholars and after unsuccessfully searching online for some of their lyrics, have decided to devote my time to producing a few. Now, I'm not the best listener of rap so if you see a mistake, let me know and I'll fix it! Enjoy!


Microphone check (x5)
One, Two
I'm a Blue Scholar working,
studying the art of of labor to create
flavor to relate to listeners
alleviate the danger associated with strangers
Isn't it strange how we estrange ourselves from our neighbor
Enables us through music to connect
Release some fluids in our neck
With the rhythmic forward movement of our heads and back again
Indeed as we succeed the pioneers maybe give back
All that we've taken through the years
I bleed for what I believe to be the truth
Nurturing the seed planted in the fertile youth
The poetry hanging from the branches eat the fruit
Pluck the most succulent to suck upon the juice
So what's up with you
frequently they ask
been hibernating
writing till the last page
deciphering the past days by
Bypassing the lies and the bullshit
Get off the mic and save it for the bull pit

In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

I'm an exile, motherland stepchild
metropolis-dwelling Middle America's prisoner of war
combat the papers til the blankness is gone
listen now talk about the beat after the song
Astronomical 'cause that is just a modest measurement
of my ability to represent my family correct
because I be about it
ain't no other way to say it
discovered my potential
and I stay late to tape it
in the basement
with an ancient karaoke stereo
in lieu of a studio
We made do with everything laying around
And if I'm not mistaken
Isn't that improvisation what hip hop is all about
If you popping at the lip then I will sock you in the mouth
sonically to render you the opposite of loud
Apology accepted in advance
I think it's kind of cool at one point that you thought you had a chance


In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)


A veteran's fate
written on pages of mixed tapes
I'm all about a government that citizens dictate
sick of fucking dealing with the President's mistakes
sit back and rant is just misplaced anger
so I cradle pens
from now until the fable ends
taken friends for granted
but now I gotta make amends
Calling out the big talk small walk
Towers high above the ground
yo we're shaking down your towers demanding our money back
plus reimbursement for parking and shit
I put my heart in this shit
And now my arteries connect to the amplifier wire
Music make the flames in my inner fire higher
I reinvent the language in the image of a dancer
contorting where the floor becomes an answer

Blue school graduate dawg
After this last verse when the revolution come
we gonna shoot your ass first

In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

Class is in session
ask us a question
give us suggestions
yo strapped for protection
whatever you do, whatever you say
step up front
be good at what you do
at least be good at something
writing, reading
producing, DJing
cooking, cleaning
doing laundry
something
learn an art, a trade
be somebody


In the Blue School
Class is in session
Ask us a question
'Cause class is in session (x4)

Maine Middle School to provide Birth Control

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/middleschool.contraception.ap/index.html+

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/national/main3384673.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3384673

Can middle school students (11-14 yr olds) be trusted to remember to take birth control pills in a timely fashion? If the birth control pills were the kind that is "seasonal" where you only have your period every three months, the chances of unknowingly being pregnant for a whole trimester can easily happen.

But all that aside, would they then also be providing access to the emergency contraceptive pill?

I honestly can't remember that much about being in middle school, but I'd definitely say by that time there was some hanky-panky going on. And that was a decade ago! With the teen pop stars and TV and movies these days, those kids are not innocent. Even more so if they're not as sheltered as some more "privileged kids".

Saving the Monies

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21548538/

retirement calculator: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21563675/

Man, I hope retirement is all that it's cracked up to be. There'd better be some awesome games 40 years from now! Hopefully, there'll be some worthwhile stuff still standing to visit and that the smog won't ruin the view. Hopefully, the kids (if there are any) won't turn out to be bums that live at my house still and the world in relative peace to make traveling safe enough.

I can't even begin to fathom life in 40 years. Hopefully I'll still be around.

Reality TV...for Gaming!

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/topheadlines/~3/178564050/pl_games

Man, the Japanese think of everything great! If this caught on here, it would super boost the gaming industry as well as make gaming more accepted as a somewhat type of sport. Maybe a split screen of the gamer and the game. All those gamers out there that gave up on the game because it was too hard would be able to finally see the ending and stuff. Or in the case of poorly planned (re)formats, when the game file gets wiped and it's too much trouble to go through it all again. Perhaps this is the idea that Zach and I have been waiting for and I should be podcast gaming?

Non-Picture Exhibit C, D & E

Ugh, uploading pixs to Blogger is horrendously difficult. These don't really need pictures to be enjoyed anyway...

Exhibit C: Las Vegas
For Rae's 21 Birthday extravaganza, she decided she wanted to go party it up in Vegas. Ironically, very little partying happened, most of it being done by Zach, Andy, and me. I took extremely few pictures during the trip because Zach and I had stayed in Vegas for about a week last year and pretty much saw everything noteworthy then.

Highlights from the trip:

• Getting a bruise the size of a half dollar on my elbow because of getting knocked around so much on the New York New York roller coaster ride. My shoulders were also sore for the rest of the stay.
• Warily watching the Harley Davidson motorcycles sway back and forth as they were lifted up above us while eating at the Harley Davidson Cafe.
• Learning to play Craps! And then promptly losing $40 each that night during our first Craps experience. However, later on Zach and I played again and won $25 each.
  Only losing $5 total on gambling! Comparatively, Pat lost several hundred dollars playing poker.
• Playing an abridged version of pool volleyball where the rules were expanded a bit and the score didn't matter.
• A random convo with some Brits...after some very very cramped clubbing, we were sitting on a bench in one of the malls and this group of British chaps came over and we had a bit of a row about how three of their shoes were piss poor and the bloke at the club wouldn't let them in. Bugger that! It was pretty entertaining.
• Watching Zumanity. They had a couple who had been married for 40 years go up and do a 'romantic slow dance' which they didn't look all that enthralled about and halfway through the dance they up and decided they had done enough dancing and tried to get off stage. Unfortunately, they just stood at the edge and looked down because they didn't go to a spot that had stairs...poor old people, not up to the stage jumping.
• Watching Spamalot. Only Zach, Slava, and I went because everyone else thought it'd be lame. How can getting a grail filled with strawberry daiquiri be lame?! And the Holy Grail store afterwards had the fanged bunny slippers that made Zach almost cum in his pants.

Exhibit D: Housewarming Party

The housewarming party was a long time in coming. I put it off so I would have ample time to finish getting unpacked. Ha, as if. There's still a couple boxes in the living room. It was super fab though, I had yummy spinach dip, fresh veggies (the sugar snap peas went like crazy) with dill dip, chips (the delicious Hawaiian chips that come in a purple bag), and bagel bites. And of course GUITAR HERO!! Though I didn't get to play much it was probably for the best since the whole slowing of the brain signals to the hands makes doing any song on Hard REALLY hard. Again not many pictures though there are a lot that my friend Megan put up that I subsequently stole from her facebook.

Exhibit E: Wild Mushroom Show

Yum! Mushrooms galore! The best part of this show, which was at the UW Horticulture Center (which was also the place for my Tech Comm graduation) was that we were allowed to bring in mushrooms that we found for ID. So that morning, I went to the front yard to dig up some mushrooms that were growing aplenty and after looking closely, noticed that there was another kind too after digging that one up, I noticed yet another kind. Then I turn around and there's this quite large mushroom growing right behind me! So I found FOUR different kinds of mushrooms in my front yard. Later on, Zach and I went into the backyard and found at least two other kinds. The big mushroom turned out to be a shaggy mane, which is apparently quite edible. Unfortunately, there was only one and I haven't seen any others growing yet. It was really great though because at the show, they had a bunch of shaggy manes and I was all like, Lookit here, I have one too! There was also a chef cooking mushrooms and I got to have a little taste. Speaking of mushrooms, the stuffed portabella mushroom food item ( Champignon Gefullt mit Knoblauch und Kase, mit Spätzle und Gemischtem Salat) at Fierabiend is delish.

Thoughts on Guitar Hero 3

Sunday: Strolled into Best Buy and picked up my pre-order of Guitar Hero 3 at around 12:30. Managed to stave off playing by reading Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (a great book btw) until around 2 PM. Then I pretty much played until around 10. With two or three 15 minute breaks scattered unevenly throughout. Initial feelings? So far, there aren't any songs that really stick out to me as being must play songs. Whenever I play any of the other GH versions, there's at least two or three songs that I have to play and hear. And there's a surprising amount of foreign songs as bonus tracks. One of them, Generation Rock, I didn't even realize was foreign until about 1/3 of the way through, I was like....you know, I don't think this song is actually in English...maybe that's why I can't understand any words besides the work Rock. Most rock songs have a bit of mumbling here and there and screeched out lyrics so I didn't really pay much attention.

Monday: In retrospect, I was probably just burnt out. Andy and I finally unlocked the song that I'd been waiting for, "Monsters" by Matchbook Romance. Yayz. I guess some of the other songs need some time to grow on ya. And man do I love earning money and buying stuff from the store. The. Best. Thing. Ever. It was also entertaining seeing the expressions from Andy and Ben on the various songs and various factoids. Too bad I'm not more into music, it'd be nice to know when I should be excited to unlock certain songs.

What I Would Take in an Evacuation

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1675600,00.html

Most of my life is captured in 1's and 0's so I would definitely pack up my laptop, and I'd really want Zach to get the computer that has my backup hard drive.

My purse has all of my daily necessities: phone, wallet, Sansa, keys, DS, pills, and bus pass.

Probably my filing box, which has my SS card, Naturalization cert. and a bunch of papers from my before college days.

I suppose the guinea pigs...so their traveling case, water, food and vitamins.

It'd be a bonus if I could take as many of my clothes/coats/shoes as possible, my fave makeup, extra contacts, and a few pieces of jewelry. There's a couple pictures on my dresser that I'd take. I'm not super keen on my yearbook(s) but if there was space/time, I'd grab those too. Lastly, as a super bonus, I'd try to grab as many consoles, games, and DVDs as time/space permitted. Or if not, then the memory card from the PS2 at least.

See...as a list it doesn't seem like that much!....really....

Halloween!!! Got Drugged up Candy?

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/ss/halloween_7.htm

I clearly remember as a young trick-or-treater how there was the scare of malicious drug dealers that spike their candy with coke or other highly addictive drugs so that kids will become newly addicted customers. Any strangely wrapped, non-identifiable "cheap" candy was promptly thrown away with the almost certain chill that it could have been one of those doctored candies. I can't even image what it must have been like before this 'scare' came about. Did parents really just let their kids walk around the neighborhoods (hopefully at least with their friends) in the late evenings, in the bitter cold, and get candy from strangers? And then let their kids eat the candy whenever and in whatever amount they wanted? No wonder the Baby Boomers are so fucked up!

Catchy Headlines...to what end?

Newspapers have always drawn attention with outrageous headlines, but now that the news has migrated online it feels like the need to outdo others in coming up with an attention-getting catchphrase has taken priority over what used to matter...what the article is actually about.


Just this week, I clicked on a link in the Seattle Times that was titled Want to make money? Stand in line. Was the article about getting unemployment benefits? Was it about some other easy way to make money? Nope, it was actually about politics surrounding lobbyists that pay people to stand in line to save them a spot. This wasn't the first time that I had clicked on a headline that lead me to an article I was not prepared for. Most of the time, I think, wow, I'm glad I clicked that link because this is kind of interesting, but in any other frame of mind, would I have?

Maybe it's just a fault of the Seattle Times. Slashdot, digg, reddit, and others also employ crazy headlines, but they also have a sentence or more of tagline so you know what you're getting yourself into. And for most readers of Slashdot, just reading that bit is enough to churn out pages and pages of comments. I mean come on, what article can't be summed up in a sentence? Brevity is close to godliness.

Cheap Dinner & a Movie

The Dinner Part:
OpenTable.com is a site I just joined this week. I needed to make a reservation to this Afghan restaurant, Kabul, and it allowed me to make reservations on this site. Apparently, for every reservation you make and go to, you get 100 pts. Once you get to 2,000 pts, you get a $20 gift cert! Unfortunately, we never got to go to the restaurant and ended up going to Mala-something the UDistrict instead :P However, I will continue to look for opportunities to use the site and get points.

The Movie Part:
The Warren Report is THE best thing Zach and I have stumbled upon in our time in Seattle. About two years ago, we were at a 1Reel film showing at Bumbershoot when some guy (Warren) gets up on stage and is like, if a couple will get up here on stage and make out, I'll give them a free 1 yr subscription to the Warren Report! And thusly is how we got involved. It turns out, the Warren Report allows you to sign up to watch free movie previews. That's it. You pay a measly $20 per year, and in return, you can watch all the free movie previews you want. Zach and I must have seen close to a dozen or so movies by now. Recently, we saw Why Did I Get Married? and Lars and the Real Girl. Both were very interesting, but I actually really liked Why Did I...I'd definitely watch it again. At the end of this month, Oct. 30th, we're going to go see the Bee Movie :D! So yeah, I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to join this, if only to watch movies that haven't come out yet.

Picture Exhibit A & B

Last week's post was a little rushed and dull, so I thought this week's posts might be more entertaining with pictures!

Exhibit A: My first ever pedicure & manicure

As the title so accurately points out, the following pictures are of my first ever ever pedicure and manicure. I think it cost me about $50 for both. However, the place that I went to was decidedly the suxorz. They butchered Rae's manicure, i.e. several of her fingers were bleeding after the cuticle removing bit, and both of our manicures were all cracked under the clear veneer after just a day or two. Which apparently is a sign of cheap nail polish :P.

I'm looking forward to going back to the Tri-Cities where Zach (the boyfriend)'s mom knows of a nice parlor and I'm planning on taking my mom to get her nails done there.

Figure 1: My Bootiful fingers & toes!

Exhibit B: PAX 2007
Our second year of attending the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Good times were to be had by all, though none of us won anything, I got a couple free T-shirts and lots of chicken ramen.

Figure 2: Most Annoying Experience of PAX


Figure 3: The Tetris Loser from Last Year's PAX

Figure 4: Lobby Outside of Exhibit Hall & PC Gaming Room

Figure 5: Big Daddy - BioShock


Figure 6: Orc Man Playing Cards


Figure 7: Pirates & Booty


Figure 8: Rock Band!

Why RTFM?

As a technical communicator, this particular phrase is dear to my heart. However, I haven't yet decided where I want to take this blog and the title may or may not change in the future. Why come back to blogging after a two year hiatus? I realized, after talking to one of my friends, that I had completely stopped writing creatively and actually missed it somewhat. There so much more I could be doing and I intend to explore that.

Wow this is sounding pretty dry. See what I mean by the lack of creativity? I also want this to be a spot where I can expound upon all the interesting things that make me so much more awesome and cool. In other words, a repository where I can put all the useless pictures I take. Mayhap this will also get me out of my photo-taking slump which has caused several events (Vegas, my party) to go largely undocumented. Though I did take tons of random pictures at my party using Megan's camera, they were not all together sober ones.

Since at the PAX panel that I went to on online blogging and podcasts mentioned consistency as its #1 suggestion with starting your own thing, that's why I've decided to only blog once a week for now, on Wednesdays. That way, this blogging thing won't take over my life and I won't get burnt out right away. The only problem I see with this is the potential for ginormous posts but I think I can get away with saving several drafts throughout the week and then posting them all at the same time on Wednesdays.